Happy Father's Day! I hope you enjoy this small fic. Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. I have been focusing on my other TMNT story more, but I haven't forgotten this one!

Credit to noa91939 for being an awesome beta for me!

Chapter 4: Her Tessen

April was happy for Splinter. She really was.

He had the daughter he thought he lost years ago back safe and sound; a large piece of his human life with him once again. Karai was still stubbornly independent. She didn't live in the lair with them and she insisted on taking care of herself, but she left the Shredder and the Foot Clan. She vowed revenge on Oroku Saki for deceiving her for so many years and for causing her mother's death.

It hadn't been easy, but they had finally managed to rescue Karai from the Shredder's clutches and bring her back home.

Although many of the turtles had doubts about saving Karai, Shredder's second in command.

They would defend to the death Miwa, Splinter's daughter.

Although for some, their desire to save Karai solely came from their loyalty to Splinter, not their opinion of the kunoichi.

Karai had officially become their ally, and after time and trust began to grow… a new family member.

April knew she had put this off long enough. She took out the tessen and flicked it open with ease. Over the course of the year, April felt she had been really making progress with the weapon. Before her training, April couldn't throw a half-decent punch. Now she was on her way to mastering tessenjutsu.

April sighed and with a flick of her wrist, the metal fan closed once again.

She was surprised Master Splinter hadn't mentioned anything about this yet, but maybe he had been waiting for her to come to him.

April slid the door to the dojo open. Kicking off her shoes, April stepped inside and slid the door closed behind her. Master Splinter sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. Beams of sunlight shone down on his fur from between the branches of the large tree in the center of the room.

April sat before Master Splinter on her knees with her feet tucked behind her. It was an uncomfortable position that she was slowly getting used to enduring for long periods of time. The turtles and Master Splinter could sit on their legs for hours without complaining, while her legs fell asleep in the first half hour.

If Splinter was in deep meditation, April knew she would have to wait, but to her relief as soon as she sat before him Splinter cracked one eye open.

"Is something the matter, April?" he asked gently.

"Well I…" she hesitated for a brief moment and then held out the tessen towards him. "I just thought I should give this back."

Splinter opened both eyes; his gaze moving from her face to the weapon in her hand.

He looked back up at her, his expression never changing from his normal, stoic calm.

"I see," he said at last. "Why are you returning this to me?"

April faltered.

Why was she-? Wasn't that obvious?

"B-Because…" April stuttered. "You said that you had been planning to give this tessen to your daughter, but you gave it to me instead. Now that you have your daughter back I thought that you would want to give it to her."

"I see," Master Splinter said again, but he still didn't take the tessen from her. "April, may I ask you a question?"

Confused, April lowered the hand the held the weapon. "Sure…"

"When you lost your father to the Kraang, how did you stay hopeful that you would be reunited with him again?"

April blinked. She had no idea what Splinter was getting at. April looked down at the mat on the floor. "Well…" she began slowly. "It was hard at first. I was determined to see him again, but I had no idea how I was going to get him back. But as time went on… I guess it was…" April looked back up at Master Splinter with wide eyes. "It was you guys. Donnie, Leo, Mikey, Raph… and you. You all gave me hope that everything was going to be okay and you helped me get stronger."

If it wasn't for them, April didn't know where she would be. In the worst time of her life they became the center of her world; her family.

"And now that you have your father back, do you think you will leave us?"

April started forward in surprise. "No!" she yelped. "Of course not! Just because I have my dad back doesn't change anything! I still couldn't imagine my life without…" She looked around at the dojo. This was the place where she first started her ninja training. Training with Master Splinter was the toughest thing she had ever done, but even at the hardest moments of her training, she had never felt more accomplished. "This place. You guys. All of it…"

Splinter placed a paw on her shoulder and smiled down at her.

"That's good to hear," he said in a warm voice. "Do you understand now why I want you to keep the tessen?"

April shook her head, the back of her eyes prickling slightly. "No, I just don't feel right about it. This tessen was meant for Karai… for Miwa," she corrected. "If you hadn't given it to me last year you would have given it to her now, wouldn't you?"

Splinter hesitated and removed his hand from her shoulder, placing it in his lap. "Yes, that is true," he agreed.

"It's not right for me to have it," April insisted. In her next words, April's breath caught in her throat, making her speech barely audible: "I-I'm not… your daughter."

It was the truth, but why was it so hard to say?

April looked away and there was a long silence between them.

"That is true," Splinter said at last. "You are not my daughter like Miwa is."

For some strange reason, April's heart gave a painful lurch.

"If I had never met you, if I had never trained you, I would not have given you that tessen. However," Splinter's voice hardened meaningfully, "that is not the first time my life turned out different than I expected. I thought I was going to raise my daughter in Japan with the help of my beautiful wife, Tang Shen. Instead, I lost my wife and went many years thinking I lost my daughter as well. Not long after that, I lost my humanity as well, and in that moment I thought my life was over."

April stared up at the mournful ninja master, wanting to say something, but knowing nothing she could say would be enough.

"However, in almost that same moment, I met four miracles, and before I knew it, I became a father once again. Then I met you…"

Splinter paused and the emotion on the ninja master's usually calm face as he stared down at her brought tears April's eyes. She quickly blinked them away.

"You, April, who would be the same age as my Miwa, and who had the same fighting spirit I always knew she would possess. The same spirit that my sons also have. As you began learning ninjutsu, I was so proud of you…"

April's breath hitched in her throat and she felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"I gave that tessen to you not because I could no longer give it to my Miwa, but because I knew you were meant to have it." He placed both paws on her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Our lives don't always work out like we think they will. Sometimes we lose people we love. Sometimes we gain family we can't live without. I was fortunate to gain four sons and the daughter I thought I lost. But I also gained… if you'll permit me to say April… another daughter as well."

Tears fell down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes shut. A sob clawed at her throat as she lunched herself forward, wrapping her arms around Splinter's torso before she even knew what she was doing. She felt Splinter's arm going around her as he pulled her into a strong hug.

April now understood why it had been so hard for her to say that she wasn't Splinter's daughter.

It was true, she wasn't Splinter's child in the way Miwa was, or even in the way the turtles were. April already had a dad and it had been just her and Kirby for so long that April forgot what it was like to have anyone else in her family.

However, when Kirby was gone April found herself not alone, but surrounded with new family that took her in without hesitation or conditions. She already had a father, but that didn't stop Splinter from guiding her, protecting her, and caring about her. Splinter became a second father when she had none. Even though Kirby was back in her life, like she had said before to Splinter, that didn't change anything. She would still be a part of their family even though she had her father back, and she would still be part of their family, even with the addition of Karai.

Everything was different, and yet nothing had changed.

"Thank you," she whispered into his chest.

He pulled away with a small smile, his eyes filled with warmth and love.

"Now," he began briskly, "we might as well get some training in while we're here. Let's practice with your tessen today."

"Hai sensei," she agreed automatically.

It was remarkable how much she sounded like one of his sons.